


Masochistic

by la_comtesse



Category: Hololive, Virtual Streamer Animated Characters
Genre: F/F, Reincarnation, you know the usual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-12 21:02:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28766778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/la_comtesse/pseuds/la_comtesse
Summary: Kiara's dead again, and this time she wants to know why Calli gets so annoyed at her coming back to life.
Relationships: Mori Calliope & Takanashi Kiara, Mori Calliope/Takanashi Kiara
Comments: 6
Kudos: 155





	Masochistic

A sudden spark, a fireball. A column of light materialized in the room Calliope Mori did her paperwork, and then she knew she had company again. The underworld, contrary to what many humans thought, was a chilling place, and fire didn’t typically start out of nowhere, unless there was one particular person—a shape-shifting bird, to be more specific—who was coming by to visit. Visit, because she never stayed for long.

“Calli!” the newcomer squealed. From the column of light emerged a girl. She never did look quite the same as she did up on Earth, but even during her temporary stays in the afterlife, she was eternally young and pretty, impossibly so, with dazzling purple eyes and bright orange and teal hair. She stepped away from the spot she materialized in, leaving feathers and ash in her wake. Calli glanced at the marbled floor, now covered with the girl—Kiara’s—debris. She’d have to clean that up later.

Calli looked up, feigning indifference, and groaned. “You again.”

Kiara pouted.

“Aren’t you happy to see me, Calli? It’s been a while. A couple hundred years, probably. I don’t really keep track myself.”

“Yeah, and you’ve come back down here a couple hundred times,” Calli retorted. “Why do you even bother?”

“We’ve talked about this. I’m a phoenix, and that’s what we do. We come back to life and all.”

Calli crossed her arms. This was not the first conversation they’ve had about the subject—Kiara’s tendency to escape the only true ultimatum, death. But she played along, like she always did.

“Hmm. I dunno. I can’t get used to it. I don’t like it.”

She sat on her throne, plastering an exaggerated frown on her face. Kiara giggled.

“Aww, come on. You’re always so grumpy, miss reaper.”

She sauntered over to where Calli was sitting and held out her arms.

“Hug?”

Calli’s face remained cool, impassive. This, too, was part of their usual back and forth. “No.”

“Why not?”

“I was in a contemplative mood. I was contemplating.”

“Now you’re just lying…”

“It’s true. I was busy doing things, important things, accounting for souls, and then you came here and I have to deal with you coming back up after this.”

“Nope. You’re lying. You enjoy the company.”

“I do not!” Calli looked down at the floor, off to the side. At their usual banter, which she hadn’t been able to experience for the past few hundred years, she could feel herself cracking a smile.

Kiara must have noticed, because she grew quiet for a minute. She tapped her finger on her chin, lost in her own contemplation, and then her eyes lit up.

“Calli, I know the real reason you get so upset about me coming back to life,” she trilled. She hopped up and perched atop Calli’s throne, right above where Calli was sitting. She swung her legs across and planted her feet on the arm of the throne in the most flamboyant manner she could muster, and Calli groaned as she moved out of the way to make room for the phoenix on her seat. The temperature of the room rose by no small number, and Calli wanted to pretend that it was just because Kiara was literally made of fire and nothing else. 

“Oh? Why is it, then?” 

“Because if I died for real then I’d be stuck here in the underworld with you for alllll eternity~” Kiara grinned and twirled a lock of teal hair around her finger. “And when I come back to life I just leave you all alone. Did I get it right?” 

Calli rested her cheek on the back of her hand. Kiara’s sudden prompt got her thinking, and she felt pensive. “Hmmm. No.” 

“Huh? What do you mean? I know we joke around a lot, but for real, don’t you like me being here?” 

Calli hated the tinge of pain that Kiara didn’t even try to conceal in her voice. She chose her next words carefully. “It’s because... You’re a phoenix…” 

“Yes? We’ve established that—” 

“Whenever you come back down here, it’s like you’ve lost a little piece of yourself.”

Kiara knitted her brow, visibly confused. “Well, that’s because, you know, I’m dead! But then I come back on Earth anyway and gain everything back!” 

“Yes. You always come back. And you know? You’re different there. There’s… There’s a spark you gain. I’ve always thought that you’re the most beautiful when you’re full of life.”

The reply caught Kiara off guard. “Calli, wait, I…” 

“I like to see you when you’re at your most magnificent,” Calli explained. “But during that time, I can’t ever meet you directly, when I’m stuck in the underworld.” Calli sighed and smiled wistfully up at the girl sitting next to her. “That’s what I’m upset about. I guess that just makes me a masochist, huh?”

**Author's Note:**

> i honestly cannot forgive myself for writing a vtuber fic but here i am. this ficlet emerged from a quick discord drabble i wrote and i decided to add stuff to it to make it more legible. the line at the end is inspired by calliope's RIP, as you may have expected. here you go, takamori fans (especially lena, you're welcome <3 <3)


End file.
